A Blog About Well-Being

Month: June 2016

Happy June, everyone! I hope the first week of summer has been kind to you wherever you may be reading this. Our heat and humidity have already been pretty high for this time of year, but I have still managed to do some hiking with my favorite guy, have been taking tons of pictures, and have had time to experience a few more things that I am thankful for and want to share with you. Go ahead and fix yourself something cold to drink and let’s get with the gratitude, yeah?

I completed another trip around the sun. I was able to celebrate with loving family, kind coworkers, wonderful friends, and my fantastic boyfriend and cutie pie dog. I had a lovely dinner out, a lovely dinner in, macarons and a cupcake that would make your eyes roll back in your head, a terrific bottle of wine, and was blessed with thoughtful cards, and sweet Facebook posts from faraway folks. All this for basically just being alive. I’m fortunate gal. It’s given me a focus for my next journey around to do something on a weekly basis to make at least one person feel appreciated and loved. Call it a random act of kindness. It can be buying lunch for a friend, bringing flowers over next time I visit someone, paying for the coffee of the next few folks in line, leaving a special note of encouragement for a coworker who is having a rough time of it, whatever I’m led to do. Every day may not be our birthday, but that doesn’t mean we can’t take the time to show people that they matter. I’m going to start scheduling it in my planner so that I’m sure that it happens. I’m already feeling grateful for all of it.

My birthday happens to fall during the midway portion of the calendar year and it’s always a wonderful time for me to do a bit of a year thus far review to see where I’ve met goals, changed course, or needed to refocus my energy. I am ridiculously grateful to be able to sit down with my journal and review what I’ve written out at the start of the year and see if any of it needs adjusting, or in some cases, to be taken off so that it can be replaced with new goals and ideas. When I’m done, I feel loads lighter and like I’m going back in with a fresh perspective.

I got back in the habit of creating things this month and it feels fastastic. I wrote a lot, I made jewelry and art, I worked on some fun DIY projects, and played with my essential oils a lot. It feels like a time to be prolific and I’m taking full advantage of that for as long as the feeling lingers. My tendency when I’m under stress is to cut something and go into protection mode, and sadly that often means considering creative projects frivolous. After spending a month deliberately making time to pursue them, I can say that the opposite is true. Everything flows much more smoothly with my soul is satisfied, and making time to make things is no longer up for negotiation. I’ll be scheduling time to do this weekly, as well. It’s necessity.

So what have you been up to this month? Do you have any exciting stories to tell? Were you inspired to take on a project that’s been calling your name? Did you go anywhere special or spend time with people who make your heart happy? I want to hear about all of it. Post your gratitude in the comments below and let’s celebrate!

Happy Father’s Day! I made some beard oil for my favorite guy recently and thought this would be the perfect day to share my recipe with you. It’s nourishing, lightweight and smells pretty dang great! Ready to make something for the cool-cat-daddy-o in your life? Here’s everything you need to get started.

Mountain Man Beard Oil

2 oz dark glass bottle with dropper top

funnel

4 TBS argan oil

4 TBS jojoba oil

3 drops black pepper essential oil

6 drops cedarwood essential oil

6 drops bergamot essential oil

This recipe couldn’t be easier to make. Seriously. First, you measure out your oils and add them to the empty bottle through the funnel. Jojoba and argan are both excellent skin and hair conditioners. Jojoba is the oil that most resembles human sebum, so it’s great for all skin types because it moisturizes without leaving skin greasy. Argan oil is like liquid gold. It’s so nourishing and makes hair shiny and skin glow. It’s chock-full of essential fatty acids, so it’s fantastic for fighting skin-inflammation, too.

Then, you add the essential oils. This part can be a little subjective. I went with a lighter fragrance because I was giving it to my boyfriend who is kinda a fragrance-free sort of dude, but if I was blending oils for myself, I’d probably go much stronger. This is really up to you. My advice is to start with a small amount and build until it smells right to you or the person you’re making it for.

Confession Time: I really wanted to add patchouli to this recipe. I love the way it smells, and I think it would have rounded out the blend beautifully, but my fella can’t get away with wearing it to his office without being on the receiving end of a little good-natured ribbing. Personally, I take pride in being called a “hippie”, but I guess they can be a little relentless with it, so I left it out of his batch. If you were going to add it, I’d cut the Cedarwood and Bergamot both back a drop and make up for them with 2 drops of patchouli. It’ll give the recipe a little more depth and dirt.

Once all of your ingredients are in the bottle, screw your top on and give your oils a good shake. Voila!

If you make a batch of beard oil I want to hear from you! Did you change up the essential oil blend? Leave your selections in the comments below! Leave photos, too. I love seeing those glamour shots.

Wishing You Total Well-Being,

Jennifer

P.S. If you’re looking for a place to get organic and wildcrafted ingredients for your recipe, I get mine here. My affiliate link allows me to keep buying ingredients to make more tutorials like this one!

Hey there, Sweet Readers! I’m taking this weekend off to celebrate my birthday, so I’m sharing a recent article with you that I wrote for Inner Child Magazine. Enjoy and have a wonderful week!

Wishing You Total Well-Being,

Jennifer

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April showers bring May flowers, but Spring allergies often hitch a ride, too. If your eyes are watering, your nose is running and you’re generally sneezy and miserable, there are some natural solutions to this common problem. Your wallets can breathe a sigh of relief, as well. You likely already have most of these items at home.

Quercetin

While Quercetin is a relatively new kid on the block when it comes to allergy relief, recent test tube studies have shown that it prevents immune cells from releasing histamines. Histamines are those nasty chemicals that cause allergic reactions like runny nose, watery eyes, hives and swelling in the face. It’s available in supplement form, usually in capsules, but Quercetin is present in many of the foods we eat every day. Eat your Quercetin by adding onion to your recipes, eating berries, plums and apples, and by experimenting with capers. Capers are the brined flower buds of the capparis spinosa plant and can be used in seafood, poultry and pasta dishes for added flavor. While they are high in Quercetin, capers do tend to be high in sodium. If salt intake is a concern for you, best to stick to the onions or fruit.

Vitamin C

Another antihistamine you probably have lying around in spades is good old Vitamin C. It works by destroying the histamine’s molecular structure, which reduces the amount present in the blood. The supplement form is easy to find, and can be purchased in capsule form, powders or in chewable tablets. If you can find a variety with bioflavonoids, especially rosehips, research shows that this man improve it’s ability to fight allergy symptoms. If you prefer to get your Vitamin C in your diet, oranges are a viable option, but you’re not limited to them. You can also get high doses of Vitamin C in greens like kale, chard and spinach, fruits like guava and mango and in bell peppers of all colors. A word of warning, you’ll know immediately when you’ve had too much Vitamin C, because it will send you running to the restroom. If you’re going to up your regular dose, go in small increments so you don’t have any unexpected emergencies on your hands.

Neti Pots & Nasal Lavage

Nasal lavage, or saltwater cleansing with a neti pot or specially created squeeze bolttle can work wonders for allergies. We take in approximately 500 liters of air in a day, and our nose serves as the only filter for it. That means the nasal mucosa, the liming of our nose, is exposed to pollens, molds, dust, pet dander and any other variety of irritant that is the reason for our sneezin’. Flushing out this filter regularly, especially when we’ve been outside for an extended period of time, can keep these substances from coming in contact with our immune system. Neti port and nasal lavage bottles can be picked up at local health food stores or online for around $10 and you can also pick up premade saline mixes to make the process simple. You can also make your own solutions with salt and baking soda. Just make sure to follow the directions and stick with it. It might seem frightening or strange at first, but you’ll get the hang of it. Use this simple tip for keeping the solution from trickling down the throat: Keep your tongue pressed against the roof of the mouth, Nasal washing should be considered safe, but talk to your doctor if you have any concerns.

You don’t have to cry over your itchy, watery eyes any longer. A simple trip to your local supermarket store or a short walk to your kitchen can have you ditching that hay fever and skipping through the daisies, before you know it. Spring has sprung. Get outside and enjoy it!

Hey there, Darling Hearts! How are your High Vibe Playlists coming along? As promised, I’ve put mine together and I’m ready to share a few tracks with you! What good is is to make something if we don’t put our creations out there in the world, right? It’s okay if it’s not your cup of tea. What resonates with one person may not with another, and that’s kinda what makes music great. It allows you to take a single concept and express it in infinite, and infinitely different, ways. Why else would there be so many love songs?

I’m just going to highlight a few selections for this post. (Keep reading to the end to get your hands on the entire list, though!) I had too many tracks to write about them all, but hopefully this gives you a taste of what to expect. I covered a lot of genres and decades, so there’d be no easy way to include everything here. Ready for a preview?

My first selection is “Home” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. I know this song gets played quite a bit, but it’s actually the ringtone I set for my fella. I first heard it at the end of one of the episodes of Raising Hope where everyone is sitting around a dinner table smiling and it gave me happy goosebumps. It still does that even though I’ve heard it a thousand times.

I picked “Come to Me” by Koop because it used to come on the piped-in music at one of my favorite jobs as a makeup artist. I was doing regular facials and makeovers for women who were low in their self-care tanks and it was crazy-rewarding to be able to help them in that way. I loved this song because even though it was new at the time, it felt old and really familiar. I still feel joy whenever I listen to it.

I chose Van Morrison’s “Astral Weeks” for a couple of reasons. First, my dad liked Van Morrison quite a bit and his music always helps me stay close to him. The other reason is that this song is also on my self-care playlist that I put on during my weekly aromatherapy salt-bath soak. It totally relaxes me because it evokes that feeling you get when you just lay down in the grass and stare up at the sky (or in my case, lay down in the tub and stare up at the ceiling). There’s not much that makes me happier than being able to shut all of the noise of the week out and bliss out for a couple of hours.

So I don’t run you off with a novel of a post, I’ll cut my selections off here, but I should mention that I’m not finished with my list! This process ended up morphing into a project that feels better left open. As I’m reminded of something I love or discover something new, I want to be able to continue adding to my joy by adding to my playlist. If you’re having fun with this project, I recommend you do this, too. There’s something to be said for rediscovering a great song, but with the way my mind tends to jump from one thing to another, I’d so much rather keep them all in a safe place so I don’t have to go 15 years between listens. <3

In case you’re curious about the songs I highlighted or want to follow along as I add things to my playlist, I saved my selections to Spotify so you can join in the fun! In fact, if you’re on Spotify and you decide to post yours too, shoot me a comment so I can follow you. Swapping music is one of my favorite things to do, and I’d love to see what gets your spirits up! I hope the week ahead of you is a wonderful one and that you have plenty of great tunes to keep your vibes high!

Wishing You Total Well-Being,

Jennifer

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